Foxconn Black Ops - Raw, Unadulterated Power
by Rajinder Gill on July 30, 2008 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Maximum Fully Stable Overclocks
E8500
2x1GB Corsair 2133MHz kit @ 533x7.5 CAS 9-9-9-25 1N
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The Samsung based version 4.1 kit from Corsair has a stock speed of 2133MHz @ CAS 9, providing a formidable challenge for the X48 boards. We managed to get a 1N command rate stable at DDR3-2133, albeit with a very high level of VMCH (1.85V) pushing the board beyond 24/7 settings. 2N operation proved a little easier at 1.7VMCH and scaled to 537FSB, equaling the raw MHz of the Cell Shock kit at CAS 9 1N instead of CAS 8 2N (Cell Shock). Unmodified P5E3 boards can hit a stable 550FSB and 2200MHz memory speeds with this kit, so the Black Ops is trailing by around 15FSB or so in this department.
Considering the stock rating, this impressive kit from Corsair is best used with the NVIDIA 790i chipset due to its asynchronous bus clocking capability, allowing the 2133 MHz speed to be obtained at a lower processor FSB speed. We will be pushing a few boards with this kit over the coming weeks to see just how far these modules can really go. The 2133MHz stable shot shown above came in at 1.95Vdimm so there is room for more speed; we just need a board that can really do it.
2x1GB Cell Shock 1866MHz @537x7 CAS 8-8-8-25 2N
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Our 2x1GB Cell Shock kit managed an impressive 537FSB stable @ CAS8 2N, only a few MHz below what we managed on a modified ASUS P5E3 Premium. The chipset voltages required to run both of these kits fully stable are not recommended for 24/7 operation, but show that the Black Ops board certainly has a few aces up its sleeve. In fact, it trails only to a board that has been in the market for a while, certainly not a bad first attempt from Foxconn in the high-end market.
2x2GB Corsair 1600MHz kit @ 8.5x470FSB
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This is quickly becoming our favorite memory kit for everyday use. Although CAS 9 does not appear immediately attractive, the chips used on these modules (similar to the Corsair 2x1GB kit above) provide an easy load for the MCH to drive. This allowed us to run at 1880MHz or so with our E8500. If you're looking for a 2x2GB kit to team with this board, we'd suggest you look no further at this time, although we have an interesting kit from Patriot in the labs.
QX9650
2x2GB Corsair 1600MHz kit @ 8.5x455FSB
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The 2x2GB kit from Corsair received another outing this time with our QX9650. 455FSB was just about all the board could muster with 1.26VTT for stability. We were quite surprised that 4GB held up so well at this speed. In fact, using 2x1GB kits did not provide us with any advantage for stability so this 2x2GB kit is what we recommend for a 24/7 PC running 64-bit Vista.
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yyrkoon - Monday, August 11, 2008 - link
You sir have obviously not heard of the term of "being slash-doted", but lets just say many hosts dread having links to their machines being on slash-dot because of the sheer volume of traffic that is caused on the host end.Either way, I never said anything about slash-dot so . . .
DrMrLordX - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
Seriously:http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/25/...">http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/25/...
Rajinder Gill - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
And in response,http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php...">http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php...
read post 61.
regards
Raja
DrMrLordX - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
This matter isn't settled, but it is being argued by others in other forums where such things will be discussed in greater detail than they will here. Don't expect it to go away so easily.whatthehey - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
In order for it to go away, it just needs to be fixed. That shouldn't be too difficult. And then all the millions of Linux enthusiasts that run top-end $400 motherboards with heavy overclocking can rest easy.Wait! What's that you say? Most home Linux users are running hand-me-down $200 systems? Hmmm.... Can't imagine why they aren't a priority.
DrMrLordX - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
I put Xubuntu on my X2-3600+ system when it was brand new and pushed the chip to 3.2 ghz (stable) at one point. $200 hand-me-down? Nah.The fact that there are fully-suported flavors of Linux out there that can run on a cheap-as-in-free system from ten years ago is a plus, but it doesn't mean you have to run Linux on a system like that.
yyrkoon - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
I think you're a bit confused. Nothing like stereotyping whole groups for our own enjoyment though eh ?yyrkoon - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
Those threads are bogus. There is NOTHING innocent regarding pointing 5 versions of Windows to the right tables, while having the Linux table point to an invalid region of memory, thus causing lock ups and instabilities.yyrkoon - Saturday, August 2, 2008 - link
FOXCONN has seen the error in their ways whether intentional or not. This is a boon for both FOXCONN, and linux users a like.http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=877721">http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=877721
Regardless of whatever OS/Hardware I choose, it is very good to know that a company such as FOXCONN is a company that listens to its customers(eventually).
MamiyaOtaru - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
Yeah, they screwed up. But seriously, follow the threads. The one on Ubuntu forums where it all seems to have started lead to someone from the company replying, saying someone screwed up and that they would be fixing it.The initial tech support guy's response was not what one would want to hear, but in the end it was just a lowly tech support guy.
Seriously, it was good to get steamed when it looked like they were deliberately screwing people over, but the need has passed. Keep some pressure on to make sure they actually follow through, but perpetual nerdrage isn't doing any good now that the issue is acknowledged and scheduled for a fix.